Reselling Mazuri?

[CourtneyAndCarl]

The way I see it, if they can make a few bucks, more power to them. I can't find Mazuri anywhere and have to order it online either way. I can either order a couple pounds from someone reselling it on the forum, or I can order it in huge bulk online. So, they can make money off of my "misfortune" of not living close to a store that sells Mazuri. That's how the economy works... people need stuff and everyone is willing to pay a certain price, some people find this price and decide to make a few bucks off of it.

 

[TylerStewart]

Yeah, Eric (and Tom) took the words out of my mouth.... Even if someone can "double their money" on it, it's a $2 or $5 or $10 sale. We sell it and sell a lot of it, but it's the most time consuming thing we sell when compared to the dollars earned. I don't really have a cost in driving to get it or in storing it, but my gripe is the time it takes to package it and get labels done, update my invoices with tracking info, e-mail tracking to customers etc all for a very small dollar sale/profit. When I have a pile of crap to get done, a stack of Mazuri orders is nothing but a headache, but people keep wanting it, so I will keep providing

 

[dcwolfe]

So just for curiosity what is the average shelf life for mazuri?

 

[Tim/Robin]

Yeah, Eric (and Tom) took the words out of my mouth.... Even if someone can "double their money" on it, it's a $2 or $5 or $10 sale. We sell it and sell a lot of it, but it's the most time consuming thing we sell when compared to the dollars earned. I don't really have a cost in driving to get it or in storing it, but my gripe is the time it takes to package it and get labels done, update my invoices with tracking info, e-mail tracking to customers etc all for a very small dollar sale/profit. When I have a pile of crap to get done, a stack of Mazuri orders is nothing but a headache, but people keep wanting it, so I will keep providing

Oh come on now Tyler, we ALL know that the "mint" you are making off Mazuri sales is what finances your building permits and new tortoise retreat!!!

 

[Watsonpartyof4]

How big is the small bag and what did it cost?

Don't know about freezing. Sorry.

Tom,
The small bag is one pound for $12.49 free shipping... The only other size is 25 pounds for $29.99 plus $9.99 for shipping. If it freezes well and extends the life of the product then breaking it down to 1/2 pound bags would be great for me. I think I will call the company tomorrow and find out.

 

[TylerStewart]

Oh come on now Tyler, we ALL know that the "mint" you are making off Mazuri sales is what finances your building permits and new tortoise retreat!!!

LOL, the sad thing is, I've spent more on permits, permissions, and paperwork than I have on the tortoise retreat!

 

[Yellow Turtle]

Well the way I see it, I'm happy to have some people selling it online. I bought 2 lb of mazuri and it takes maybe like 4 months or more to consume it. Sometime I even start throwing the pellets to my koi pond because they are just too many of them and they love it...

And I don't really see any reason why freezing not working for any kind of food to lengthen the shelf life.

 

[Jacqui]

I can't find Mazuri anywhere and have to order it online either way.

Actually Courtney, there is a Mazuri dealer in Northwest Omaha. That's where I get mine from.

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I don't think anybody is saying it is wrong to be making a profit on selling it. I know I am certainly not. Folks would not be in the tortoise business, if they could not make a profit from it. (Note I said a "business", am not talking about the backyard breeder in it for "fun".) All business needs to make a profit for the person to stay in business.

 

[sueb4653]

how long will Mazuri last stay fresh?

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

I can't find Mazuri anywhere and have to order it online either way.

Actually Courtney, there is a Mazuri dealer in Northwest Omaha. That's where I get mine from.

Really!? How did I not know about this??

 

[Yvonne G]

Supply and demand, folks. Who cares if someone is making a bit of money on reselling Mazuri. If no one bought it the business would soon die. If someone objects to paying the price that is asked, then they won't buy it.

And its time for EVERYONE to realize that what we state here on the forum is our opinions and viewpoints. If you don't like my viewpoint, then you are more than welcome to respond with YOUR viewpoint. But that doesn't change how I feel. My opinion is still what I think. It's great for our members to have the different viewpoints that we all provide. Occasionally we spout stuff that is true blue, dyed in the wool, but usually what we espouse is a viewpoint or an opinion, or something that has worked for us in the past and I'm sharing it with you. Arguing with me about it does no one any good. Instead of arguing, just give YOUR opinion and viewpoint.

 

[Sezdawg]

Waaaayyyyy away from you! Eastern Washington (state).

I'm in Eastern Wa! Pullman. Where do you get such a great deal around here?!

 

[Watsonpartyof4]

I called Purina the makers of Mazuri, this is what they told me ...

Mazuri can be frozen up to a year, they strongly suggest you divide it into one week use bags because it tends to mold after being frozen and left sitting out longer than a week. Mazuri has a 9 month shelf life once the bag has been opened.

The one pound bag I have has been opened over a month and I have not even used 1/3 of it, so for me I will probably continue to buy the one pound bags. I was very happy they were so honest with me.

 

[RosieRedfoot]

I have had mine out of the freezer for a while and have seen no mold. I did let it dry out completely (changed containers to prevent condensation) before putting in an airtight tub.

I've barely made a dent on mine so far. I give some to my gerbil as well since I looked up the ingredients and it's fairly close in protein/fiber/fat percentages to most gerbil food. They get their own proper food as well though, but they seem to like it as a treat!

 

[lvstorts]

Waaaayyyyy away from you! Eastern Washington (state).

I'm in Eastern Wa! Pullman. Where do you get such a great deal around here?!

I'm in the Tri-Cities! I have a brother in Colefax that I visit a lot. If you pay for the bag, I'd be happy to bring you a bag next time I'm there (Dec. 16). PM me if you are interested.

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OK everyone! I didn't mean to start something by posting this topic!

To clarify: I'm all for people embracing capitalism and making a buck. I apologize for my poor choice in using the words "making a mint."

I also appreciate the service the resellers provide to those people that don't buy in bulk or have a dealer close to them.

Sorry if I caused some feathers to get ruffled.

 

[Val_d]

I live in Alberta, Canada. If you think it's tough getting it there, try from up here... Haha. I ended up paying $40 for a 25lb bag and then paid a additional $40 for shipping. I got it for my sulcata and the real kick in the teeth is, he doesn't care for it. I have to hide it in other food just to get him to eat any, and he usually picks around it. Thankfully my red foots like it so it all won't go to waste. Maybe I'll try freezing it.

 

[Baoh]

I considered offering it where I am and to those who buy babies from me as a cheap add-on. Even selling it alone, I can be in the black. Leopard geckos, tortoises, turtles, Geosarma crabs, snails, ornamental dwarf shrimp morphs, food, supplies, and/or whatever. Profit can be or has been had for any or all of these. For me, though, there is a line with respect to what I will call my convenience. The combination of product subdivision, frequent trips to the post office, management of the small-sum payments involved, and order tracking would tip the scales from "toss a little extra cash my way" to "PITA" for me. I have a fantastic post office by me. It has an APC, making it very convenient for my schedule. I could even sell with a notice of only shipping out with some reduced frequency like Mondays and Thursdays or whatever. However, it sacrifices my free time. I put in a lot of laboratory hours most weeks. I am tired when I get home. I come home tired to a set of non-career responsibilities that also eat up significant portions of limited free time. Like everyone else. I require adequate decompression so that I am working to live and not living to work. If all of my waking hours become consumed by on-the-job and off-the-job responsibilities, it is not worth it to me. If I had less going on (and many other people have more responsibilities than I do at home), maybe it would be worth it to me. However, as things are, the relative profit is fine, but the absolute profit is too low to sway my opinion from its current position. That is why I do not resell apportioned aliquots.

 

[DaisyDuke]

While they may not make a "mint", I think they make a heck of a god amount on what they sale. The way I look at it would be... there would be no added cost for gas to get the food, because you would be spending the same amount of gas to get your own supply. For me, I live across the street from the post office, so no added cost. Otherwise, even with the very limited driving I do, I would have to go less then six blocks out of my way to get to either of the post offices in the two places I normally do most of my usual shoping in, so really no added gas for "going out of my way" to get to a post office. For shipping you just get those nice free shipping boxes from the post office that allow you to pay a set price for whatever fits in those boxes. (which is how my Mazuri came when I bought from a reseller on this site) The post office actually makes shipping something so quick and easy, plus very reasonable price wise. So, yes, I can see making a nice profit with very little work.

I agree with you to an extent. But I think it depends on where one lives. I live in a busy east coast city so I have three or four post offices all within walking distance. In the Midwest and even some parts of my state it might be harder for some to get to their post office. I look at anything I buy online the same. If I feel someone is over charging me I won't buy from them. I've seen ridiculous shipping prices on eBay. I either just don't buy it or find it elsewhere (different seller or another site-store altogether.) Sometimes you know someone is just screwing over buyers and there is not much you can do to stop it but to just be a good shopper yourself.

 

[Yvonne G]

OK everyone! I didn't mean to start something by posting this topic!

To clarify: I'm all for people embracing capitalism and making a buck. I apologize for my poor choice in using the words "making a mint."

I also appreciate the service the resellers provide to those people that don't buy in bulk or have a dealer close to them.

Sorry if I caused some feathers to get ruffled.

No worries, Therese...sometimes we just need a gentle shove to get us arguing.

 

[Jacqui]

But I think it depends on where one lives. I live in a busy east coast city so I have three or four post offices all within walking distance. In the Midwest and even some parts of my state it might be harder for some to get to their post office.

Just a little side note... I live in Nebraska and in a little village of less then 100 humans. Here, if you live out on the rural routes (where the mail is brought to you) our postal guys will gladly bring out those set priced mailing boxes and pick up the filled ones, so you don't even have to go to town. Just how it is here and I know others aren't so lucky.